According to President George W Bush (State of the Union Address, 2002):
"Some states present a continuous danger to the security of the USA. They constitute an "Axis of Evil." He aims to prevent regimes that sponsor terror from threatening America or our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction. These nations are:
- North Korea, a regime arming with missiles and weapons of mass destruction, while starving its citizens.
- Iran that pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an un-elected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom.
- Iraq continues to flaunt its hostility toward America and to support terror. The Iraqi regime has plotted to develop anthrax, and nerve gas, and nuclear weapons for over a decade. This is a regime that has already used poison gas to murder thousands of its own citizens. This is a regime that agreed to international inspections, and then kicked out the inspectors. This is a regime that has something to hide from the civilized world.
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic."

The following countries are classified as "enemies of the USA."